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  Fit is more important than you think
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  2017 career guide
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Read the full guide →
Introduction
Your most important decision
Summary
Foundations
A definition of impact
Future generations & their moral significance
Effective altruism
Global priorities
Why problem selection is crucial
The case for reducing existential risks
This could be the most important century
Our current list of pressing problems
Contribution
Which careers let you contribute most?
Some solutions are far more effective than others
Our list of high-impact careers
Personal fit
Fit is more important than you think
Strategy
What is career capital?
How much to explore?
Coordination and impact
Balancing impact and doing what you love
Aim higher: a rational case for dreaming big
Three career stages
Conclusion
How much do careers differ in impact?
Read the full guide →
Go to problems hub →
Top areas to work on
Preventing an AI-related catastrophe
Catastrophic pandemics
Building effective altruism
Global priorities research
Nuclear war
Epistemics and institutional decision making
Climate change
Great power conflict
Other promising areas
Promoting positive values
Space governance
See more →
Go to problems hub →
See all our career reviews →
Key categories of impactful careers
Government and policy
Organisation-building at effective nonprofits
Research
Applying an unusual strength to a needed niche
Communication
Earning to give
List of top-recommended career paths
AI safety technical research
Long-term AI policy
Founder of new projects
Helping build the effective altruism community
Grantmaker
Operations management in high-impact organisations
Research into global priorities
Biorisk research, strategy, and policy
China-related AI safety and governance
Forecasting research and implementation
Sometimes-recommended paths
High-impact but especially competitive
Promising but under-researched
Impactful if you're an especially good fit
Recommended career capital
Steps to build your skills and network
Making the most of your current job
Doing good in any career
How to invest in yourself
See all our career reviews →
See all planning resources →
Create a high-impact career plan
8-week career planning course
Summary
Career plan template
Annual career check-up
Make good career decisions
Make an immediate decision
Improve your decision-making skills
See all planning resources →
Selected topics
Moral philosophy
Skills
Job satisfaction
Anonymous advice
Unconventional advice
What to study
Advocacy
Catastrophic risks
Meta-causes
Priority paths
See all topics →
Top articles from outside our guides
What makes for a dream job?
Best charities to donate to
Misconceptions about effective altruism
High-impact research questions
What are your chances of getting elected to Congress, if you try?
How many lives does a doctor save?
What's the impact of voting?
Advice for undergraduates
All articles →

2017 career guide
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Big picture (102)
- Longtermism (44)
- Moral philosophy (42)
- Now vs. Later (7)
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- Animal Welfare (24)
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  - Promoting Effective Altruism (65)
- Other causes (15)
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  - Gun Control (3)
  - Philosophy (6)
- Scientific research (28)
  - Biomedical Research (9)
  - Science policy and infrastructure (10)

Priority paths (141)
- AI policy (22)
- AI technical safety (28)
- Biorisk strategy & policy (22)
- China specialists (5)
- Earning to give in quant trading (6)
- Forecasting & related research and implementation (14)
- Grantmaker (14)
- Operations at high impact organisations (13)
- Global priorities research (36)
- Roles at effective altruism organisations (16)

Careers (352)
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Frameworks and planning (182)
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- Decision making (30)
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- Frameworks (31)
  - Cause selection (8)
- Keeping options open (14)
- Personal fit (53)
  - Ability (19)
  - Job satisfaction (24)
- Rules of Thumb (18)
- Your Plan (25)
Other topics (181)
- Anonymous advice (18)
- Best resources (13)
- Effective Altruism (52)
- Forecasting (1)
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- What to study (13)
Strategies (118)
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- Earning to Give (81)
  - Donation effectiveness (13)
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Updates (42)

Topic archive: Ability

Filter by content type:
All19
Blog posts14
Key articles5

All content tagged "Ability"

2021

September

Personal fit: why being good at your job is even more important than people think
Article

May

How much do people differ in productivity? What the evidence says.
Blog post

March

How to identify your personal strengths
Article

2020

September

Notes on good judgement and how to develop it
Blog post

2019

November

Anonymous answers: How risk-averse should talented young people be about their careers?
Blog post

August

How replaceable are the top candidates in large hiring rounds? Why the answer flips depending on the distribution of applicant ability
Blog post

2017

April

Should you wait to make a difference? (Updated)
Article

2015

June

Check with your gut, but don’t go with it (Updated)
Article

2014

October

Should you wait to make a difference? (First published)
Article
Check with your gut, but don’t go with it (First published)
Article

August

Job satisfaction research
Article

May

What we can learn about career choice from the Terman study
Blog post

2013

August

Does your personality matter in picking a career?
Blog post
Why the Myers Briggs test is not useful in picking a career
Blog post

May

Intelligence matters more than you think for career success
Blog post

April

How important is fitting in at work?
Blog post

January

Should you go into research? – part 2
Blog post

2012

December

Our research on how to find a job you love
Blog post
How to judge your chances of success
Blog post

September

How good are the best?
Blog post

July

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: A popular but flawed way of understanding your personality
Blog post

Filter by content type:
All19
Blog posts14
Key articles5

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80,000 Hours is a project of the Effective Ventures Foundation (England and Wales registered charity number 1149828 and registered company number 07962181) with a registered 501(c)(3) Exempt Organization in the USA (Centre for Effective Altruism USA Inc., EIN 47-1988398).

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80,000 Hours is a project of the Effective Ventures Foundation (England and Wales registered charity number 1149828 and registered company number 07962181) with a registered 501(c)(3) Exempt Organization in the USA (Centre for Effective Altruism USA Inc., EIN 47-1988398).

Please contact us to suggest ideas, improvements, or corrections.

We do our best to provide useful information, but how you use the information is up to you. We don’t take responsibility for any loss that results from the use of information on the site. Please consult our full legal disclaimer and privacy policy.